


Missing The Point, Flash

by GachMoBrea



Series: Fostering Strength - Side Stories [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: AU, Brotherly Feels!, CONTINUATION!, Canon Divergence, Dante Lives!, Eddie lives!, Flashpoint AU, Foster Family, Gen, Metahuman!Len, More Tags to come as the story progresses!, NO Killer Frost!, OOC, SPOILER TAGS!!, canon compliance, foster family AU, mild alcoholism, time line changes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 06:57:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10531269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: The following story starts off directly after "Worst Brother Ever"...*Readers Warning*} The FIRST Chapter is a short, very boring (but very needed) explanation in regards to this work and how it connects to the "Fostering Strength" Series. It contains MAJOR spoilers for the Series. (You have been warned.)- - - - - - - - - - - - -The morning after Barry changed everything "back the way it was" he realizes there's something wrong...Actually, more than one thing and his world only gets more confusing the longer he exists in it...





	1. Boring Explanations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheValdezTARDIS](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheValdezTARDIS/gifts).



Facts to know from "Season 1 & 2" of Fostering Strength (*SPOILERS!*)

The following contains SPOILERS for the parts that I have NOT yet written for the Series "Fostering Strength". 

In the Series:

Eddie will NOT die. He & Iris get married.

Ronnie will NOT die. He & Caitlin move in together (after their marriage and the vortex) and have a daughter.

Lewis will NOT be killed, but will be put into a state of finality. 

I haven't "officially" decided what I'm doing with Mick, but he will most likely be brought into the "Team" Fold.

Barry moves out of Joe's house.

*As we move along in the following story, things might not make sense. If that happens, PLEASE comment your questions and I will do my best to answer them.*

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

* ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? * ? *


	2. Paradox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> O-K, TheValdezTARDIS. THIS is what you get when you ask questions! Or, at least, one version of what you could get. Please read and let me know what you think. =)

When Barry wakes in Len's apartment the next morning, the first thing he notices is all the beer bottles.  
Len was solely a social drinker. He never admitted to it, but Barry knew the reason he barely drank was because his birth father was a drunkard and he was secretly afraid of following in his footsteps.  
And yet every single room in his brother's apartment has at least one bottle in it. An empty bottle.  
The living room was the worst, with at least three cases worth of empty bottles spread throughout it.  
'Maybe he's been really lazy picking up after himself,' Barry hopes inside his head, then cleans them all up in a burst of enhanced speed. 'That's better.'  
"That was a rush," Len drawls as he steps into the living room. "You never shake off that lazy-butt attitude Lis labeled you with, B?"  
"What's the point in having powers if you can't use them to help people out?" Barry shrugs as he holds back the desperate desire to ask about the beer.  
Len snorts at the comment as he sets up the coffee machine.  
"So," he starts as the machine hisses to life and he turns to his brother. "Did you finally do something to end up on Joe's bad side as well? Because even if you're defecting, you'll still have to pay half the rent."  
"Defecting? Joe's bad side? Len, what are you talking about?" Barry asks, confused.  
"Come on, Barry," his brother chuckles. "Ever since I bailed on my 'illustrious career' in the Air Force, Joe's face has ben stuck on disappointed mode every time I walk into the room."  
"You're not a retired Major?" Barry's mouth asks without his permission.  
Len barks out a laugh.  
"Major? Barry, come on! Do you have amnesia or something?" he crosses his arms over his chest as he leans against the counter. "The only rank I hold is the Captain Cold moniker our sisters gave me."  
'Oh, no. What did I do wrong? It didn't re-set right? What's going on?'  
"Hey," Len pushes off from the counter to step towards his brother. "You look really pale, Barry. What's the matter? Were you hit by a Meta? Why didn't Iris tell me?"  
'Iris. Lisa! The others! Were they affected too?'  
"I'm sorry, Len," Barry says, stepping towards the front door. "I've gotta go."  
"You haven't even told me why you came crying to my front door last night," Len points out as he follows after his brother. "At least let me know if there's someone I'm supposed to be hitting for you."  
"No! No hitting, no nothing," Barry shakes his head. "I've got to fix this."  
"Fix what?" Len calls after his brother, but he's already gone.

Barry runs.  
He runs to the Thawne's apartment and only finds traces of Eddie living there, nothing of Iris's.  
He runs to the Raymond's house, but instead of a happy family of three, he sees an elderly couple.  
He runs to Cisco's place and nearly faints when the only picture of Lisa he finds is a group photo.  
He runs home, to Joe's place, and is grateful that no one else is home. The family photos are there, but they're different. There are less of Len, more of Wally, and the school uniform Lisa is wearing in her High School graduation photo looks military.

'Something went wrong. I've messed up somewhere. I've got to fix it!'  
Barry runs.  
As he passes through the portal to head back in time, he closes his eyes.  
Then he's ripped out of time to come to a painful sliding stop against a van and Jay Garrick stands in front of him, tossing clothes in his face and ordering him to follow after he's changed.

The older Flash explains how time never resets the same way it was. He presses upon the young man to deal with what he had, instead of 're-doing' every time he messed up.  
"But this is more than having a second chance to catch a Meta, or find another way to prevent a catastrophic event," Barry points out, almost pleading. "This is people's lives! I don't even know everything that's wrong with the world I created now. I just know it's my fault and I have to change it!"  
"Who said changing it again would fix anything?" Jay prompts. "We're just men, Barry. We don't have the right to keep causing dramatic affects on people's lives."  
"Just one more time, Jay," Barry begs. "Maybe you can come with me and point out where I went wrong?"  
"And what happens if the next change is worse than what you have now?" Jay counters. "You said it yourself, you don't know all the changes the Time Shift has caused. Another alteration could result in a death you don't think you can deal with. You'll go back, again, and try, again, but what happens?"  
He breaks the coffee cup he used as an illustration two more times and puts the pieces back.  
"Eventually," he sighs out as he watches a small piece fall onto the table. "Time will disintegrate. There will be too many Time Lines on the same earth. The universe will collapse in on itself."  
Barry settles back in his chair as the words fall heavily into mind.  
Whatever has happened, whatever damage he's done, he can never allow himself to mess with time again.  
It only ever made things worse.

\- - -

After returning, again, to the current Time Line, Barry goes to back Len's apartment.  
"Did you fix whatever it was?" Len asks as he lets his brother in.  
"I can't," Barry confesses with all the heaviness that lies within the truth. He takes a seat on his brother's couch, then immediately stands up to start pacing.  
"Just tell me who did what and I'll shoot them," Len drawls. He drags a chair the short distance from the side dining room area into the living room space to sit on it backwards. "Listen, Barry, whatever it is you did it can't possibly be as bad as everything I've done. So why don't you just let it out since that's clearly what you want to do anyway."

After a deep breath, Barry does just that. He confesses to his older brother about his trip back in time. He first tells him about everything that was right, a subconscious attempt to 'soften the blow' perhaps, then he tells him everything that was horrendously wrong.  
"I messed up so bad, so I went back in time to fix it again," Barry wipes at a stray tear as the memory of his mother's death once more plays in his head. "But when I got back, things were different...missing. I ran around looking at places where friends and families should be and barely anything is the same." He looks to Len whose face is a cold mask, devoid of emotion. "I need to know what went wrong, Len. I don't want to walk around the city mindlessly stepping into situations that I don't understand. I know, at least I think I do, that my mind will adjust to this Time Line but I don't want to hurt people by talking about things with them that never happened."  
"So," Len breathes out, eyes on the floor. "You want me to give you the run down of your life and those around you, is that it?"  
"At least tell me where everyone is and what they're doing," Barry begs. "Is Lisa alright? She's alive in this Time Line, isn't she?"  
"Yes, she's alive," his brother nods. He look up to make eye contact with the speedster. "Were you trying to be a worse son than me, Barry? Because living in your own icy castle is not as great a thing as it looks like in the movies."  
"I'm sorry, Len," Barry feels his heart sink as he wipes more tears from his eyes. "You, of all people, didn't deserve this. Maybe I should have gone to someone else. I'm sorry."  
"Too late now," Len returns, getting out of his seat. He steps over to his brother as the man lowers his head. After a moment's hesitation, he puts a hand on Barry's shoulder. "For what it's worth...I don't blame you, Barry. In fact," he sighs with a shake if his head as his brother looks up at him. "I know I would've done the same exact thing if I were in your shoes. Time Travel to my past to change it? Oh, yeah. Definitely would have done that a few times. Wouldn't have even listened to Garrick when he warned me to stop either."  
"Thank you," Barry says with more meaning than the two words can convey.  
"Alright," Len claps him on the shoulder before stepping away. "Going through all the details sounds like a tiresome affair and we don't know what might actually be the same, so let's just cover the current important details."  
"Okay," his brother agrees.  
"Since I'm here, and the one giving the main dialogue, I'll start with myself," Len gestures over his chest with both hands. "I'm a man for hire."  
"What?" Barry sputters, alarmed. "As in you kill people?!"  
"No, Barry," his brother smirks. "I'm supposed to be a P.I. but I get so many different types of clients, I don't even bother classifying myself as one anymore. Unless it gets me to my goal, of course."  
"Private Investigator, got it," Barry nods as his heart rate settles back to normal again.  
"Lisa's out of the city, training to be a JAG officer," Len continues. "Cisco has been living at his brother's place since the guy returned from his world tour. Do not, under any circumstance, talk to Caitlin about therapy. Eddie keeps talking about trying to get transferred out of the CCPD but we all know he won't really leave. Iris is still mad at Joe about Francine. Wally lives with Joe while he goes to CCU for auto mechanics."  
When his brother ends his summary, Barry takes a moment to let the facts sink in. There were innumerous questions for the simple layout, but he decides to press him for a more personal one first.  
"What happened with you and the Air Force?" he asks quietly.  
"Right," Len huffs a laugh. "You thought I was a Major or something?" To his brother's nod, he adds, "A major disappointment, maybe." He takes in a deep breath before answering, "After that hacking thing with Lisa and Felicity, I left. That's it. Got back home to a guilty but justified looking sister and a father figure at his wit's end."  
"And?" Barry prompts when his brother goes quiet. "Come on, Len. There's no way Joe would push you away because you decided to leave the Air Force."  
Len steps away from his brother and puts the dining room chair back where it belongs. From the small distance apart, he says, "Maybe it would be better for you to be kept in the dark about certain things."  
Barry's phone goes off about a jewelry store robbery just then and Len looks relieved at the interruption.  
"Go be a hero, B," he orders with a jerk of his head towards the door. "If you walk into a confusing situation, call me up and I'll explain it to you."  
"Len, I-" Barry doesn't know what to say, so he doesn't say anything.  
Barry runs.

The Flash stops the thief then goes to STAR Labs to see those who are there.  
"Taking the guy's bike apart then tying him to it?" Cisco smiles as the speedster walks into the Cortex. "Dude, that's sick!"  
"Thanks, Cisco," Barry smiles at his friend as he gives him a high five. He looks around the room to see Joe, Wally, and Caitlin there. "How are you guys doing today?"  
"Fine, thank you for asking," Caitlin smiles at him.  
The speedster steps closer to the brunette woman, "Uhm, so, I lost your current address some how. Do you think you could text it to me again?"  
"Why?" Cisco asks. "You going to deliver flowers, Barry?"  
"No-no, it's just," Barry shrugs. "In case there's an emergency?"  
"It's fine, Barry," Caitlin assures him as she types on her phone. "There you go," she smiles back up at him. "Try not to lose it this time."  
"Right, absolutely," the speedster smiles, looking down at the address. It's the old one. The one from before she got married to Ronnie. Wait, where was Ronnie? Instead of asking his friend, Barry texts Len the question.  
"We've got to get back to the station," Joe says as he walks towards the door.  
"Can you drop me off at CCU?" Wally asks his father.  
"Sure," the detective nods, motioning for his son to follow.  
Barry's phone goes off and he answers it as he waves off to the Wests.  
"Are you somewhere alone?" Len asks over the line.  
"One minute," Barry answers. In a flash, he's back in his regular clothes. He holds a hand over the receiver as he looks to his two friends, "I've got to go. See you later?"  
"Naturally," Cisco raises a hand to him as Caitlin nods.  
Walking out of the Cortex, Barry puts the phone back to his ear.  
"Okay, I'm alone," he says.  
"Good," his brother sighs. "Sorry to say this, but...Ronnie is dead. The giant vortex in the sky created by Ebo killed him somehow. That was a long time ago too, Barry."  
"Ronnie's dead?" Barry repeats, leaning against the wall as the realization hits him. If Ronnie was dead, then that meant Stella was never born. He wiped a girl's entire existence off the face of the planet?  
"Deep breaths, Barry," Len's calm tone comes through the phone. Barry hadn't even realized his breathing had become erratic. With a deep breath in and out, he forces his lungs to take in air more naturally. Through the haze slowly ebbing in Barry's brain, he hears his brother ask, "Are you okay?"  
"Yeah," Barry lies. "I've got to get to the CCPD. Thanks for answering my text."  
"Solve a crime, Barry. It'll make you feel better."  
After hanging up, the speedster mumbles, "I don't think I can ever feel better again."

\- - -

At the CCPD, Joe is on his way up the stairs with a small bag of evidence when Barry steps off the elevator.  
"Hey, Joe!" Barry starts after his foster father as he glances back at him. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"  
"Sure," the detective shrugs. "What is it?"  
"I was sort of wondering if you would- well, if we could...have a family dinner together?" Barry asks nervously.  
"You mean the part of the family that's still talking to each other?" Joe clarifies with a frown. "You, me, and Wally?"  
"And Iris and Len," the speedster adds.  
Joe stops at the top of the steps to level a hard look on the younger man.  
"Leonard Snart is not allowed to step foot inside my house unless it's to rescue someone from it burning to the ground," he says seriously. "Do you understand me?"  
'Did you finally do something to get on Joe's bad side?' Barry remembers. He had thought his brother was joking.  
By the look on their foster father's face, Barry knew he was vastly mistaken.  
"As for Iris," Joe adds, stern look dropping as he continues towards the crime lab. "You know full well why she isn't talking to me. She vowed to never enter that house again."  
"Right, because of Francine," Barry nods, then hesitantly adds, "But maybe it would do you both some good to hash it out again?"  
Joe stops outside the closed lab door to turn on his foster son again.  
"Listen, Bear," he sighs tiredly. "I don't know what this act you've got going on is about, but I need you to drop it. Some things need time to fix and I'm not sure when the time for me to patch things up with Iris is, but I know it isn't right now."  
"What about Len?" Barry prods lightly.  
"I don't think things will ever be right between us," Joe says solemnly, then enters the lab.  
Barry follows his foster father into his lab and comes to a slow stop when he sees another person there, sitting at a second desk and looking like they belonged. The man is blonde, around Barry's age, and wearing a tie and vest of all things.  
"Got another husk sample," Joe says as he puts the evidence bag in a black 'in' basket on the blonde man's desk. "Singh wants it done ASAP."  
"Husk?" Barry asks, having no idea what case it could be from.  
"Yes, another human husk just like the other ones we've found around the city recently," the blonde man says, adding more mystery to him with the sound of his British accent. "I'll get right on this," he adds, eyes looking over the sample.  
Joe turns to Barry and says quietly, "Deep. Breaths."  
Then the detective walks out of the room, leaving a confused speedster to stare at the stranger with no idea what to do about the interloper in his lab.  
"He...llo?" he tries, then looks to the man's name plaque and accidentally reads it out loud, "Julian Albert Meta-Human CSI Specialist."  
"I do see you standing there, Allen," Julian replies without looking at the brunette. "No, I don't want any of your help."  
"Okay..." Barry steps over to his desk and takes a seat in his chair. Secretly, he texts Len. 'How long has a man named Julian Albert been working @ the CCPD?'  
After a few minutes of pretending to do work, Barry gets a reply.  
'Almost a year. You honestly forgot about 'the bane of my existence' Albert?' [Len]  
"A year?" Barry says aloud after reading the message.  
"Keep your personal affairs out of work hours, Allen," Julian scolds as he gets up from his desk. "Or is that too difficult a task for you as well as getting to work on time?"  
"Uh, yeah- I mean no," Barry frowns. "I'll just get to work then."  
"If you're capable," the Brit quips.  
'How have I worked with this guy for almost a year?' 

\- - -

That night, Barry goes back to Len's apartment.  
After a knock and being told to "Come in!", he steps inside to find his brother cleaning a gun at the dining room table.  
"Tough day for you, Barry?" Len drawls, his eyes focused on his work.  
The younger man takes a seat across from his brother.  
Before he can open his mouth to say anything, there's another knock on the door.  
Len grins as he repeats, "Come in!"  
Iris comes walking into the apartment with both arms full of grocery bags.  
"Hey, Barry," she smiles at the speedster as she heads straight for the kitchen.  
"Buying food for me again, Iris?" Len remarks as he starts to put his weapon together.  
"Someone's gotta make sure you're eating healthy while Lisa's away," Iris answers as she starts to empty the bags. She pauses, loaf of bread in one hand, to look at Barry. "What brings you around here, Bear?"  
"Just...hanging out," the speedster shrugs. "Here," he stands. "Let me help with those."  
In a blast of energy, all the groceries are put away and the rotten food that Barry finds inside the refrigerator is thrown into the trash.  
"I still can't believe you managed to keep that hidden from me for so long," Iris shakes her head as she looks at the speedster. "You are the laziest guy I know, and yet you still managed to get the work itself done on time. It was so obvious!"  
'What?!' Barry laughs off his confusion.  
"Come now, Iris," Len comes to his brother's rescue as he puts his, now re-assembled, gun onto the table and looks at the other two. "Barry kept his speedster identity a secret to protect you. In fact, if it weren't for Ebo, you probably would never have learned the truth."  
"I'm the one who figured it out," Iris says defiantly. "Me. Not evil Wells. I figured out Barry's secret, and yours, in case you forgot."  
"Secret?" Barry asks as his brother's face turns from smiling to a blank expression. "What secret? Is it why Joe is angry at you, Len?"  
The corner of Len's mouth pinches with a frown as he stands.  
"Barry," Iris looks at the speedster in concern. "You know why Dad is angry at Len. Why are you bringing it up?"  
"Yeah, no, I'm sorry," Barry runs a hand through his hair before resting it at the base of his neck. "You said 'secret' and I guess I went into CSI mode. I wasn't thinking." He turns to his brother as the hand drops, "Sorry, Len."  
"It's late," Len says. "You two should get home."  
Iris steps over to her brother and pulls him in for a hug.  
"Hold in there, Len," she whispers, but Barry still hears it.  
"No more trips down memory lane," Len whispers back as he pushes himself out of the hug and walks deeper into the apartment where the bedrooms were.  
Barry walks with Iris out of the apartment.

As they head out of the building, Barry turns to his sister, "Hey, Iris?"  
"Yeah?" she turns her head towards him.  
"Do you think we'll ever be able to sit together again? Under one roof? As a family?" Barry asks. He wishes he knew what had gone wrong so he could fix it. Len stonewalling him was frustrating and he couldn't straight out ask anyone else without risking sounding like an idiot or revealing what he did to the Time Line.  
Iris heaves a heavy sigh.  
"Honestly?" she pauses in her steps to turn fully to the speedster. "I have no idea. But I hope so."  
As they resume their walk, Barry mumbles, "Me too."

\---

The next morning, Barry follows Joe to the waterfront where there's another husk; the fifth one they've discovered, apparently.  
Julian is already there, taking samples and looking the husk over.  
Joe tries to get the blonde to allow Barry to help out, but he is bluntly refused.  
With a secret look from Joe, Barry steals a sample using his powers.  
As they walk away from Julian, the detective murmurs to the speedster to take the sample to STAR Labs which Barry does as soon as it's safe to do so.

At STAR Labs, Barry realizes his two friends already knew about Julian and Cisco even compliments the stuffy Brit by calling him "the best".  
"Oh!" Cisco pulls out his phone and smiles. "Gotta go. Dante's waiting for me outside." He looks to Caitlin. "You got this?"  
"Yes, thank you," the scientist smiles. "Have fun."  
After the genius leaves, Barry turns to Caitlin. "I wonder what their plans are."  
"The usual brotherly bonding stuff I suppose," the scientist shrugs. "Those two are so close, I'm surprised some times that Dante can pull himself away from Cisco."  
"Right," Barry nods. "Close...Because of how they grew up."  
"Well, you should be able to understand the best," Caitlin says matter-of-factly. "After all, you lost both of your parents young too. The only difference is you didn't have a brother to look out for."  
Barry hates this world he's created a little bit more. He killed Cisco's parents? Who else's deaths were on his head? What other damage has he done?  
"I better get back to the CCPD," he says quickly as he rushes from the room.  
"Okay," Caitlin turns to watch him go. "I'll let you know when I get the results!"

Barry can't stand it anymore. The feeling of not knowing, of feeling lost in his own life. There were too many holes, too much damage. He wanted to know. Really know. He wanted to wash his own mind of the memories of the past he stole from his loved ones. He wanted to reset his own brain and start anew.  
Sitting on a park bench, he realizes how horribly selfish he was being. Because of his choices, he had created this new world. It seemed only fitting that he'd be punished by remembering everything he had before he sacrificed it all for one selfish wish.

\- - - 

It's almost seven-thirty at night before Barry gets to Joe's house where he's still living, according to Len. His foster father is setting the table for dinner and he looks up at the speedster as he enters.  
"Wally's finishing some homework upstairs," Joe says as his foster son steps closer. He straightens his shoulders as he glares down at the hero. "Len or a lady?"  
"What?" Barry asks, confused and caught off guard by the look.  
"You've slept out of this house for two days straight, Barry," his foster father explains. "Have you been spending time with Len? Or do you have a new girl in your life?"  
"Why are you so mad at him?" Barry asks instead of answering. He was willing to risk coming off as an idiot if it meant he could mend the broken fences in his foster family.  
"I thought so," Joe says, sounding disappointed. "Barry, I'm not going to stop you from talking to Leonard, but don't think that doing so will fix what he's done."  
"What has he done?" Barry presses.  
"I'm not going to talk about it in this house," Joe answers with finality.  
"But-" Barry's phone goes off, cutting him off. It's the Meta App. A speedster has been spotted at the Boardwalk.  
"Wally!" Joe shouts up the stairs as he heads to the door. "Dinner's on the table! I've gotta head out!"  
Barry runs out of the house before he can hear Wally's response.

The Flash arrives at the Boardwalk where he finds the other speedster. The man is in a black suit, form fitting like Barry's, with orange lines and a longer lighting bolt down the chest. His cowl covers everything but his eyes and a few inches around his mouth.  
"I am The Rival," the other speedster announces loudly. He points at Barry, "You're not the speedster from my time line. Where's Kid Flash?"  
"You're time line? You're from Flashpoint?" Barry remembers reading about another speedster just barely escaping Kid Flash's clutches in a newspaper article.  
"You'll have to do, I suppose," Rival states, ignoring the other man's questions. "Maybe if I kill one speedster, it will draw out the other."

The speedsters fight...Up and down the city streets, the buildings, until Barry finally gets the upper hand and trips the enemy speedster.  
After Barry tosses The Rival over a railing, his enemy disappears.

\- - -

Back at STAR Labs, Joe laments the appearance of another dark speedster before Caitlin tells the group about the results from her tests earlier. There are no traces of dark matter, but there were traces of speed force.  
The Rival is identified as: Edward Clariss.  
"But how did he get these powers if they weren't from the particle accelerator?" Cisco asks no one in particular.  
"Maybe there's a Meta out there who can bestow powers?" Caitlin offers.  
"Great," Joe sighs as he rubs at his temple. "If that's true, this city could be run over by them in no time." He looks up to the others. "We've got to figure out how this is happening and stop it."

"It's me."

All eyes turn to Barry who is staring at The Flash suit holder.  
"What do you mean it's you?" Joe asks, confused.  
"This new Meta, everything wrong with this Time Line," Barry slowly turns back to his loved ones, tears blurring his vision. "It's all my fault. I'm so...so sorry."  
"This Time Line?" Caitlin repeats.  
"What are you talking about, dude?" Cisco adds.  
"I can't do this without the others," Barry realizes. "Wait here," he orders, then speeds out of the room.  
Joe, Caitlin, and Cisco look between each other.  
"Do either of you know what's going on?" the detective asks.  
"No idea," Caitlin shakes her head.  
"He has been acting strangely recently," Cisco muses. "Maybe the stress has finally gotten to him?"  
"Could this be a relapse from his father's murder?" Caitlin asks worriedly.  
"That would explain why he's been bringing up bad blood again," Joe nods sadly.  
Suddenly, Iris is in the room, phone in hand and hovering near her ear.  
"Uh, I'll call you back," she hangs up as she looks around the room before focusing on Caitlin and Cisco. "What's going on?"  
Wally arrives in the next bolt of lighting, a fork poised in front of his open mouth.  
"Dad?" the young man lowers the utensil as he too takes in his surroundings. "What's going on?"  
"That's what I asked," his sister says as she crosses her arms over her chest.  
Barry stops when he brings Len, completing the family whose confusion only grows.  
"You're not going to do what I think you're going to do," Len says as he turns to his brother. "It's a bad idea."  
"They deserve to know," Barry states. He takes in a deep breath before confessing, "There's something I have to tell you all."  
"Obviously," Cisco mumbles. Caitlin hits him in the arm for it to silence him.  
"After Zoom killed my Dad, I was in a really bad place," Barry starts. "So...I went back in time and saved my Mom."  
"You stopped the Reverse Flash from killing your mother?" Iris repeats.  
"Yeah," Barry smiles slightly at the memory. "I lived with my Mom and Dad for weeks. I didn't even have to be The Flash."  
"Then where is she?" Wally asks.  
"Thing went...wrong," Barry wipes at his eyes to hold back the tears. "My own pursuits of happiness caused so much pain to others...I had to change it back."  
"You watched your mother die twice?" Iris says softly. "Oh, Barry."  
"I don't understand," Joe speaks up. "How is your second trip through time connected to this new Meta?"  
"He was in the other Time Line," Barry explains. "I never met him myself, but I read about him, about The Rival."  
"I still don't understand," Joe shakes his head as he puts a hand to it.  
"Uhm..." Barry grabs a clear board to use for illustration. He explains Flashpoint and how they were now in an entirely new universe. "It's not that different, I think," he ends his explanation as he caps the marker. "I don't have all my memories of this world, though, so I can't be entirely sure."  
"That's why you were acting so strange and getting so family friendly," Iris realizes aloud.  
"I can tell you the differences, if you want," Barry tells them. "You have a right to know...If that's what you decide. But you'll have to learn to live with it...because I can't fix it. I can't change it back."  
"That's a lot to take in, Barry," Joe says as he leans against the computer table.  
"I know," Barry lowers his head in shame. "I'll...I'll just...I'll give you all a moment."  
The Flash runs from STAR Labs...

...Barry Allen enters the CCPD crime lab to talk with Julian Albert.  
There, he musters all his patience in order to ask for the Clariss file. It takes some mile pleading and small lies, but he eventually gets the file and realizes where The Rival might be hiding out: Prescott Saw Mill.  
As The Flash, Barry runs to the address. The Rival is there, standing atop a metal platform as he looks down at the hero.  
"I'm sorry for not recognizing you, Flash," Rival says. "My friend forgot to mention that the person who stole my life from me was this world's current iconic speedster."  
"Friend?" Barry repeats, then he's blasted away by an energy force and knocked to the ground. Sitting up, he sees a man in dark robes and a mask walking down some metal stairs. "Who are you?"  
"I am Alchemy!" the robed figure says. He raises a hand with a shining object in it to blast Barry again.

\- -

After a few minutes of tense silence, Len starts to walk out of the Cortex.  
"Len, wait!" Iris grabs hold of his arm to stop him. "You knew, didn't you? You knew about Barry altering the Time Line."  
"He came to me right after the change," Len admits, body stiff under his sister's hands. "I've been trying to help him adjust by explaining the differences here."  
"So you know how life was before he changed everything?" Wally asks almost angrily.  
"I know the man I was at Flashpoint, or whatever the second version is," Len answers carefully. He turns towards Iris to pull her off his arm. "As far as the first version goes, I'm almost as lost as the rest of you."  
"Almost," Joe huffs.  
"It doesn't matter what life was like before," Len returns coldly. "This is how life is now. I for one am not going to waste my time comparing the two."  
"I'm guessing that means you didn't tell Barry about all the things you've done here in this version," Joe returns in a monotone.  
"Guys! This isn't just about you!" Iris snaps at them. "This is about all of us. This is about Barry and his mistake. His one, stupid mistake made in a time of great emotional pain."  
"What right did he have to mess up our lives, Iris?" Wally asks his sister.  
"He didn't mean to," she returns. After looking the group over, she asks, "Don't we all make mistakes to protect the ones we love?" Her eyes settle on her father. "We can stay angry at each other, but doesn't it become tiring after a while?"  
"I'm sorry for what I did regarding your mother, baby girl," Joe says solemnly. Iris walks over to her father and they hug. 

\- -

The Rival hoists Barry up from the ground and slams him against the metal support beam.  
"I've always known there was something missing in my life," he spits, ripping the lighting bolts that held the communicator devices in them off the hero's cowl. "Now that I'm whole again, I'm going to enjoy taking the life of the man who stole mine."

\- -

"This is Barry we're talking about," Caitlin says softly. "How can we turn our backs on him?"  
An alarm blares from the computer, alerting them that the speedster was in trouble.  
"Especially now that he's in trouble," Caitlin adds in alarm.  
"Barry! Barry!" Joe tries to shout at his foster son, but there's no response.  
"His coms aren't working," Cisco explains. "But I know where he is. The old Prescott Saw Mill."  
"That's just around the corner," Joe says.

\- -

Barry fights The Rival as best he can, but after suffering through the weakening blasts from Alchemy, the enemy speedster gets the upper hand and practically drags his body through walls to beat him into the ground.  
"How?" Barry shouts as Rival reaches for him. He punches upwards but Rival counters with a lightning punch of his own, landing him on an old table covered in saw blades. As Rival holds him against the table with a hand to his throat, he chokes out his question again, "How did you...get your powers?"  
"My friend gave them back to me," Rival grins. He lets the hero's throat go to punch him in the face. Stepping away, he picks up some sort of spear and holds it over his enemy. Grinning, he aims the point at Barry's chest. "Time to look for a new rival."

"How dare you touch him!" 

A force of frozen air pushes the evil speedster to the side and away from Barry.  
Len is there, hands spread out in front of himself as his eyes shine and ice spreads over his hands and up his arms, covering his jacket.  
Barry is too shocked to formulate words, the haunting memory of Flashpoint's Leonard Snart replaying in the back of his head.  
"Who are you?" Rival shouts as he pushes himself back up to stand.  
"Captain Cold," Len drawls, eyes shining brighter for a second. "And you messed with the wrong speedster."  
He blasts Rival again, this time covering the man in ice from his feet to his waist.  
Enemy properly frozen, Len jogs over to Barry's side.  
"Are you okay?" he asks, ice falling from his hands and arms as he looks his brother over.  
"You're a Meta," Barry says lamely, still in shock over yet another change he has caused.  
"I promise I haven't robbed any banks," Len jokes.  
"No one is going to stop me from my revenge!" Rival shouts as he breaks out of the ice. With a roar, he lunges for the brothers, only to be blasted back again by a differnt force.  
Len and Barry look back as Cisco steps into the room. The young genius is wearing some sort of goggles and gloves, the latter he uses to blast Rival when he tries to get up again.  
"Stay away from my friends," Cisco orders as he takes a step closer.  
Len walks away from Barry and towards the evil speedster, ice forming around his right hand like a large club as he moves. When he stands right in front of the still rising Rival, he swings the icy weapon at his enemy's head, knocking him out cold.

The Flash drops Clariss off at Iron Heights. 

\- - -

After The Rival is safely tucked away in jail, Barry tracks down Len at a bar.  
He frowns as he walks over to his brother and takes the empty stool beside him.  
"So how's this memory thing going to work?" Len drawls as he looks at his beer bottle. "You going to slowly remember how things are here or...?"  
"I'm not sure," Barry answers honestly. He watches his brother take a swig of alcohol and briefly wonders how many the man has had. "How did you get your powers, Len?"  
"Same as all the others," Len answers with a shrug. "I was working part time for a cryogenics lab. None of the brain work, mind you; I was just their errand boy. Drove their experiments from one point in the city to the other, or brought in supplies, you know the drill." He takes a few guzzles of his drink then plops the empty bottle onto the bar before continuing. "I was taking something to Mercury Labs when the particle accelerator explosion happened. It knocked my truck off the road and everything was lights out for me."  
The bartender walks over to the brothers to take the empty beer.  
"Last calls, Len. We're closing doors early tonight," he says to the elder brother.  
"Thanks, H," Len grins as he pushes himself up out of his seat. "I think I'll stop here. You gonna tab me?"  
"Sure thing," the bartender nods. "Just make sure you anty up on time, got it?"  
"Yes, sir," Len fake salutes as he walks out of the bar, Barry right on his heels.  
"So then what happened?" the speedster prods after several moments of silence.  
"When I woke up I was Captain Cold," Len answers simply. "Not at first," he amends. "But after watching you lay in a hospital bed for a month, something sort of kicked in."  
"Then why aren't we partners?" Barry asks. At his brother's loud laugh, he presses on. "No, really! Cisco could make you a suit, I'm sure of it. We could work together to take down Metas and you'd be perfect against wild fires."  
The small smile on Len's face falls at the word 'fire' and he stops in his tracks to look directly at his brother.  
"You don't want someone like me on your team, Barry," he says with finality. "I'll just screw it up like I do everything else. I'm fine living the way I am now."  
"No you're not," Barry counters. "Len, I don't need all my memories from this Time Line to know you're unhappy. I'm sorry that I don't know, because that means it will take me that much longer to figure out how to fix things, but I will fix things. That I promise."  
Len huffs out a breath as he shakes his head.  
"You shouldn't promise things that can't be done, Barry," he says quietly.  
The truth hits home and tears at Barry's broken heart, but he takes in a breath to steady himself as he responds, "I have to try."

\---

The next day, everyone meets up again in STAR Labs.  
It's there that they discuss their newest problem.  
"Alchemy gave Clariss his speed," Barry explains. "Somehow, he's giving people the powers they had in Flashpoint."  
"He's kinda like a doctor that way," Cisco states.  
"Doctor Alchemy," Len says, testing the word out. "It has a nice ring to it."  
"So if those husks were leftovers of people turning into Meta-Human, Flashpoint selves," Joe surmising. "Then we've got at least four more people with unknown powers hiding out in Central City."  
"Speaking of Flashpoint," Iris looks to Barry. "We've decided that we don't want to know about our other lives."  
"Ignorance is bliss they say," Caitlin adds.  
Barry smiles in relief, more than grateful that his friends and family were able to forgive him.  
"But there's something you should realize, Barry," Joe adds seriously as he walks over to his foster son. "You can't expect us to change into the people that you remember."  
"I know," the speedster nods, the happiness falling away.  
"Things happened here," his foster father adds. "Things that can't be looked past just because you want your happy ending."  
"What do you mean?" Barry asks, confused.  
"He means he doesn't want me around just because we were close in the first world," Len answers. "It's okay, Joe. I was just leaving."  
"Wha-Len, wait!" Barry calls after his brother, but he's ignored.  
"I should have known you'd be like this," Iris says angrily as she chases after Len.  
"Uhm, maybe we should?" Caitlin nudges Cisco up and out of his chair and the two scurry out of the room; leaving Wally to follow after them.  
Barry turns all his confusion on his foster father.  
"Joe, I don't understand. Why are you so angry with Len? He told me he left the Air Force, but that can't be the reason for you wanting him out of your life!"  
Joe lowers his head with a sigh before answering.  
"I'm not angry at Leonard for quitting the Air Force. I'm disappointed that he killed his father." He looks up at the wide-eyed look he knew he'd find on the speedster's face. "His powers are constantly growing. What happens when they get out of hand? If he can't control them, I'll be the one who has to lock him up."  
"So you hate him because he's a Meta-Human?" Barry tries to understand, but can't. Len killed Lewis? It must have been in self-defense...Right?  
"You know that's not true, Barry," Joe answers evenly. "I love you as if you were my own flesh and blood. And I don't hate Len, I just...I can't live with his violent choices. Okay? You said it yourself, you don't remember what happened, but I do. I've watched him kill two people without batting an eye, Barry. There's something not right about a man who treats death so carelessly."  
Joe turns to walk away, but Barry quietly calls after him, "Who else did he kill?"  
Turning back, the detective answers, "Eobard Thawne."  
"Both of those people were horrible, Joe," Barry reminds his foster father. No matter how badly he messed up the Time Line, there was no changing those two monsters.  
"I know," Joe relents. "Which makes this that much harder."  
The detective walks out of the room after that and Barry is more lost than he has ever been since he screwed up the universe.

\---

In an attempt to get his mind off all his mistakes, Barry throws himself into work at the crime lab in the CCPD.  
While he's filling out a report, Julian walks over to his desk and plants his completed report on Clariss in case it should help him on his 'other case'.  
"Thanks, Julian," Barry forces himself to smile politely. "But it turns out my case wasn't connected at all so I won't be needing this."  
"Ah, well, isn't that interesting," Julian muses but he doesn't leave. Instead, he asks, "How did you know his name?"  
"Whose name?" Barry prompts, confused.  
"The name of the man who the husk belonged to," the blonde clarifies. "I hadn't yet told you his name, and yet you already knew it. How is that?"  
Barry frantically tries to come up with a convincing lie, but he isn't fast enough and Julian chuckles ruefully.  
"You stole a sample when you showed up at my crime scene," the Brit states. He's right, of course, and Barry still has nothing to say to save himself, so Julian takes the hesitation as the confirmation that it is and powers on. "Everyone just buys into your good guy routine. But there's something...not right about you, Allen. Others don't see it...But I do." Julian straightens to look down more on his coworker. "Do you know why I don't like you?"  
Barry blows out air, still at a loss.  
"I don't trust you," the blonde tells him. "And I don't like things that I don't trust."  
Julian strides out of the lab as Barry leans back in defeat.  
"See you tomorrow....Roomie..."

\- - -

Later that night, Edward Clariss is killed in his cell.

 

\--- - ---

**Author's Note:**

> I do NOT own anything in regards to this show, characters, or any sort of propaganda affiliated with either of the aforementioned things....


End file.
